By airline, Air New Zealand was the better on-time performer during the two months but Jetstar had a lower cancellation rate.
Air NZ recorded 78% for on-time departures in July and 83% in August. Jetstar’s on-time departures were 72.5% in July and 72% in August. For on-time arrivals Air NZ recorded 80.2% in July and 83.8% in August while Jetstar recorded 74% in July and 74.7% in August.
Air NZ’s cancellation rate was 1.5% in July and 1.6% in August. Jetstar’s cancellation rate was 1% in July and 1.4% in August.
Consumer NZ says flight disruption meant many people weren’t getting where they needed to be and it is concerned passengers don’t know their rights if this happens.
Further analysis of the data shows that throughout the two months, 108 flights were cancelled on the routes on which the airlines directly compete; jet services linking Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.
Because Air New Zealand has a much bigger network than Jetstar, it had a higher number of cancellations - 84 of the total.
The ministry said that significant factors that affected on-time performance in July were the CrowdStrike IT outage on Friday July 19, which caused significant disruption to Jetstar’s operations. Jetstar was impacted more than most other airlines due to its greater reliance on Microsoft systems.
Disruption continued into the following day.
Airlines were also hit by fog, high wind and heavy rain and increased passenger numbers over the school holidays.
Air New Zealand has had its domestic operation hit by Pratt & Whitney engine maintenance problems.
Jetstar has been strengthening operations since the pandemic including through hiring more workers and investing in new Airbus A321neo LR (long range) aircraft.
“We’ve been working hard over the past 18 months to build a strong operation, and while we’re proud of what we have achieved, there’s always more to do and we remain focussed on delivering for our customers every time they choose to fly with us,” said a spokeswoman.
The figures are a long-awaited key step to shine more light on airline performance as ordered by Transport Minister Simeon Brown earlier this year. They will be issued regularly.
Consumer NZ’s communications and campaigns manager Jessica Walker said the data was welcome and gave some clarity over the performance of the aviation sector.
While the cancellation rates are low, the on-time performance indicates there are still a lot of passengers not getting to their destination at the expected time.
“We remain concerned that passengers don’t know their rights when they are impacted by a flight disruption that occurs for reasons within the airline’s control.”
If a flight is delayed or cancelled (for reasons within the airline’s control) the impacted passenger is entitled to claim back associated costs, up to a certain limit, she said.
“Airlines don’t always tell people this, and we’ve heard that sometimes customers are misled about their rights.”
Walker said airlines don’t have to tell people their rights, but Brown had the power to fix this by requiring airlines to tell passengers about their rights when flights are disrupted.
Jetstar has said that when flights are cancelled for reasons within its control, it provides a range of customer support which can include covering accommodation, meals and other out of pocket expenses.
The figures are based on Australian on-time performance reporting undertaken by the Australian Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE), which has been reporting on-time performance in Australia for more than 20 years.
While the first reports will include domestic jet services, the ministry says it will extend its reporting to cover regional - where Air NZ passengers have been suffering delays - and international routes.
On the 12 routes covered in the first report, data was supplied by the airlines and collated by the ministry.
Both Jetstar and Air New Zealand use Aircraft Communication Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) to electronically measure OTP.
After collection of initial data, aggregate reports were subject to internal audit by the airlines before publication by the ministry.
Air New Zealand chief operating officer, Alex Marren, said the airline had been steadily investing in staff, training, aircraft and new technology such as paperless flight deck and communications tools to deliver a reliable operation.
Improvements include a new app frontline teams use to help turn aircraft faster and dashboards in the airline’s operations centre for decision making and quicker recovery during weather events.
‘‘At the moment, we have several aircraft out of service due to the Pratt and Whitney and Rolls Royce global engine supply issues. To manage this situation, we are bringing on additional maintenance support, adding more engineers and working with our key suppliers on critical parts,’' she said.
Cancellations were caused mostly by maintenance and weather.
Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.
